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Welcome Message from Dr. Nkosi

Dear Soc Scholars,

I’m honored to be a part of your educational journey, and I’m thrilled you decided to take a sociology course! Sociology provides us with practical tools to understand our own lives in relation to larger social forces. Everything in life operates on a spectrum, including your educational and sociological experience. This means that what you put into this course, what you're open to, and what you desire from this class will drive the outcomes.

Sociology will challenge your current worldview and push you to look beyond the surface to understand why you think and act the way you do and why the world is the way it is. This will be a challenging but rewarding experience. I believe education should be experiential & transformational. My role is to facilitate our learning this semester. I strive to create a safe and engaging environment where everyone feels comfortable finding and expressing voice.

The photo below on the left is of the Nkosi squad--my wonderful partner Shaheed, me, and our two children Beautiful and Asante. I love my family with every ounce of my being. My children are a major source of motivation and inspiration for me to put my sociology into practice and help create a more just, equitable, peaceful, and loving society. The photo on the bottom right is of my students and I holding a virtual press conference in Spring 2021 to launch a housing justice campaign.

I look forward to a great semester!

Dr. Nkosi

Family photo of Dr. Nkosi with her husband Shaheed and their two children Jennifer and Asante. Sitting on a couch at AGBO Films in Hollywood where Beautiful works.

A photo of Dr. Nkosi's class when we hosted a press conference to launch a housing campaign.

Getting Started in SOC 1

Watch this short video, which provides an overview of our class and explains how to navigate our class Canvas (CLICK HERE).

Please read everything in this section. The format for this class is 100% on-line.

It is very important that you read the information below about the basic format for this class and then READ the SYLLABUS. The syllabus is a VERY IMPORTANT tool that you MUST READ in order to be successful in this class.

Basic Format for this Course is as Follows

This class is asynchronous, meaning we do not have a regularly scheduled day/time to meet.
Students can choose to participate in an optional weekly zoom "study halls" sessions to read and watch videos together, discuss the main takeaways, ask questions, and draft the assignments from the weekly module. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Each week students will complete 1 module, which is located under the Modules tab on Canvas (see link on the left side of this page).
Each module contains all of the course materials that need to be completed for the week.
I will open a new module every Friday by 12 PM.
Modules must be completed the following Thursday by 11:59 PM.

Each module contains the following

Overview of the weekly topic
Checklist of what to complete that week
Readings
PowerPoint lecture
Video links (if applicable)
Website links (if applicable)
Weekly reflection/application/discussion post/activity

The diagram below provides a visual of the basic structure for our SOC 1 class. Students will complete weekly modules, which include reading(s), video(s), online activities, and complete a RAD discussion posts. Students will complete one major project, the sociological autobiography, which has a paper and visual component.

Blue boxes making up a diagram of the overall class structure. There are three major components for the class, including weekly modules, a culminating sociological autobiography project, and a final reflection.

Module #1 Getting Started in SOC 1

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with how Canvas works, and then explore how our class is organized. Each Canvas course is slightly different and you want to be able to find your way around easily in the weeks ahead.

To begin, click the "Student Orientation" icon below. There's helpful information and a short video demonstrating some of the basic features in Canvas. Do this by Thursday, August 26th.
Next, review the "Syllabus" icon to learn more about how our sociology course is structured.
Finally, do Module #1, "Getting Started in SOC 1" module, which is open and available under the "Modules" icon below. This module is due Thursday, September 2nd by 11:59 pm.

To begin, click the "Student Orientation" icon below.